a fabulous weekend!

Last night Ryan and I went to bed saying, "Today was a perfect day!" Yesterday was Owen's blessing day. Ryan's parents, Liz and Travis and boys, and Keri and Matthew and kiddos were all here for his blessing. It meant a lot for each of them to come. The blessing was beautiful and Owen did fantastic (didn't cry at all). After church everyone came to our apartment for dinner and to hang out. It was a really good day.

Ryan's parents got in last Friday and left this morning. It was so fun to have them here. We are so glad they could come meet Owen and see where we live. On Saturday we had a wonderful breakfast together and then went to the coast, Ocean's Shore. It's about 1 1/2 hours from us. It was a lot of fun! The picture above shows us on the beach with the ocean behind us. When I think of a beach I think of Southern California, packed beaches. On Saturday we literally could've driven right into the water if we wanted to. We drove all around the beach. There were a bunch of kite flyers and people walking around. I really want to go back and do a bonfire there sometime. Unfortunately it wasn't the best condition for Owen--too much wind and a hungry belly--so we didn't get to walk around as much as I would've liked, but I'm really glad we went. Apparently people do a lot camping there in the summer. After the beach we went and found some good (it was very yummy) clam chowder! Below Mom and Dad Harrison are enjoying their food.
Dennis bought some smoked salmon at the restaurant. I could tell he and Ryan were very excited about it because they kept mentioning it until we finally opened it up to eat on Sunday afternoon. Here they are enjoying their treat.
All weekend Grandma kept trying to get Owen to smile. She definitely got some good smiles out of him.
Sunday, February 7, 2010, Owen's blessing Day:
Owen was such a good baby all day! He looked so cute and handsome in his blessing outfit. I don't feel like these pictures show off his outfit very well so I hope to get him back in it soon, before he outgrows it, to get some better pictures.


We didn't get pictures with Grandma and Grandpa until after church...

Hanging out with everyone afterward...Travis and Ryan snuggling on the couch :)
Liz and I with our "babies"--Miles isn't much of a baby anymore. Hard to believe but these two boys will actually be in the same primary class growing up!
Grandma and Grandpa snuggling with Owen as much as they can!

all smiles

i've been trying for a couple weeks to catch a good smile on camera. while ryan's parents were here we finally got some good ones! i LOVE this last picture! i keep pulling out my camera to stare at this one.

owen loves his changing table. that's where i get the most smiles out of him. for some reason he really relaxes and has fun on his changing table. i get really close to his face and talk with him and touch his cheeks and he gives me some good coos and smiles. it's my favorite!

6 weeks (last Thursday)

I'm late on this, but want to document it.
Owen turned 6 weeks old last Thursday!
(picture take on Friday, 2/5)

Quick trip to Utah

Ryan took a very quick (there and back in the same day) trip to Utah at the beginning of January for his brother's wedding! Congratulations to David and Jen!
Here is Ryan with all of his siblings. I love this photo! I was nervous for Ryan to leave while Owen was so young and I was still trying to figure things out as a new mom, but I'm so glad he went! Even though it was so quick he loved being there!

say CHEESE!!!!

here is my attempt to get a smiling picture: a little too close and blurry! but still cute!

I think Owen looks SO cute in his jeans, even if they are a little big on him still! It makes him look so grown up!
Ryan, burping Owen. Can you see how Owen has lost a lot of his hair at the front of his head? Like father like son!:)

5 weeks today

owen is giving us lots of smiles right now. he doesn't perform on demand, but it's so cute when he starts smiling away. every time he starts to smile i run grab my camera and he stops. i'll try convincing him for a few minutes to smile again and as soon as i give up and put my camera away he smiles. above it looks like i caught a half way smile.
you can see that owen's newborn clothes are getting short on him, but the next size up seems to drown him. i can already tell that owen's tops will fit him better than his bottoms. he seems to be too lean to be able to keep his pants up very well. i've been surprised at how long he's been able to wear his newborn clothes.
looks like his eyes are going blue.

simply. in. love.

i'm not sure how to describe it but i love owen SO much! i feel it deep in my heart. i've loved owen from the start but i feel much more calm and confident about being a mom these days which has given me time to really recognize and focus on my feelings for him. even during the tiring hard moments i still feel a great love for this little guy. when owen is crying i love that i can go get him and he calms down. he knows his mama and knows that i'll take care of him. i love my baby so much!

Funny Story: when my mom was here i put some baby legs similar to these on owen. i brought him out and she said something to the effect of, "Those are so funny looking. Did people really give those to you as a gift?" to which i responded, "No, I bought them myself."

ha ha. we had a good laugh. to each her own. i think baby legs are really cute. apparently my mom doesn't. :) here is owen, hanging with dad, in his baby legs! and, by the way, when i change owen's diaper i have the hardest time getting his pants on because he moves his legs all over and scrunches them up. when he wears his baby legs i don't have to worry about that and i love it.

out and about

this weekend some friends of ours from school (they live in seattle area) came down to hang out for the afternoon. it was really good to see them. i wish we could figure out how to get together more often. we went to this park and walked around then went home to have dinner. it was really nice to get out in the nice weather.
i'm trying to get out once a day to keep myself from going stir crazy. if i don't have errands to run on a particular day owen and i will get out for a walk. here's owen enjoying the outdoors.

A self portrait for Aunt Wendy:)

Owen was 4 weeks old this past Thursday! I can't believe he's been here for a month already! Each day he seems to grow up a little more. He's getting bigger, taking on his own features, and his face is filling in. Just a couple of days ago he cooed a few times. It was so fun to hear that coming from him!
The first time we put Owen in the swing he wasn't a huge fan, but now he's loving it!
Yesterday morning Owen was a sloppy eater and had milk all over his face and neck, so I wanted to clean him up. I decided to put him in the bumbo to give him a small sponge bath. I knew he'd be a little too small for it, but he actually sat up in it better than I expected! And, I thought he looked SO cute in it!!

People are so nice.

Today I went to Costco to get some flowers for my friend. Since I was there I decided to get lunch. I had Owen in the Bjorn and the flowers in my hand. I was going to figure out how to hold/balance everything, but the guy in line behind me asked, "Do you want me to hold those flowers for you? I have kids, I understand." It was the nicest thing! Not only did he hold them while I ordered and paid but then I ran into him getting my drink. He didn't even say anything, he just stuck his hand out for me to give the flowers to him again until I was safely at my table eating. Once I started eating I looked around to see if I could find him but he was nowhere. I swear he was there just for me today, just to put a smile on my face.

Speaking of people being so nice....

So many people have been so kind to us! Moving to a new place preparing to have a baby I really did wonder how much help we'd get. Let's just say I've been VERY pleasantly surprised! Besides just regular baby gifts (which we've been so grateful for as well) people we've met here have given us a stroller, a crib, a Bjorn (I was determined to have a Bjorn, but I knew they were pretty pricey), a swing, lots of clothes they are no longer using, and most recently someone just gave us their pack 'n play. I've been overwhelmed with how generous people have been.

Speaking of Costco lunches earlier....

C'mon, there is something about eating lunch at Costco! I love it! I always get the hot dog and drink combo for $1.50. Now, I'm not a huge hot dog eater, but every once in awhile a Costco Dog tastes so good! I think every time Liz and I are together we seem to end up at Costco for lunch one of the days.

Ok, just wanted to share....

Ahhh.....

I just took this picture from my back patio. This is a true blessing! I haven't seen the sun and a blue sky like this in a long time! It just doesn't happen here this time of year. I am determined to get out in this beauty today. Really, I'm so thankful for this!